Computer objects (e.g., files) are commonly copied or saved from one computer to another. Computer messages are sent between computers. Computer users give each other access to or “share” different sets of computer files or different computer file directories.
Typically, the sharing of computer objects between users as a “share” is distinct from the saving of computer objects to computer (e.g. network) locations. This distinction relates to the traditional view that computer storage occurs at locations (e.g., drives, folders, etc.), while the sharing of computer objects relates to the security or accessibility of the object at that location. As a result, the user interfaces for saving computer objects to computer locations are distinct from the user interfaces for setting the sharing of the objects.
An aspect of the present invention is an appreciation that access to a computer object according to its computer location is analogous to who is accessing the object. The common aspect is accessibility to the object. Accordingly, the present invention provides a computer object access control graphical user interface for setting computer locations where a computer object may be accessed and users who may access the computer object. The computer object may be a computer file, a computer message, person contact information, etc.
The access control user interface may operate, for example, to save a computer object to one or more computer locations, and also to specify sharing of the computer object with one or more other users so that they can access the object. Saving a computer object and setting the sharing of it are together referred to as controlling access to the object, the former referring to where the object may be accessed from and the latter referring to who may access the object.
In one implementation, the user interface includes a name field indicating a name for the computer object and multiple access control fields that are rendered together and indicate multiple selectable computer spaces for the computer object. At least one of the computer spaces corresponds to a computer location, and at least one of the computer spaces corresponds to access to the computer object for one or more computer users. The present invention provides, therefore, a unified interface for selecting and displaying destinations that can be either a file store or a person, thereby unifying the control of access to a computer object.
In one implementation, the multiple computer spaces are listed in a ranked sequence, which can be based upon recency of user interaction with the computer spaces (i.e., locations or users) or according to associations to the computer object determined automatically from user computer interactions. Users can be represented by an email address, an instant messaging name, a full name, or any other person identifiers, and specific transports to the users can also be identified or specified.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.